Biography

Professor Alan Duncan is Director of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre and Bankwest Professor of Economic Policy at Curtin University. Prior to taking up this position in 2012, Alan was Director of the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) at the University of Canberra. He was previously a Professor of Economics and Head of School at Nottingham School of Economics, University of Nottingham and has also held positions at the University of York and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

Alan has published widely in both academic and policy outlets, with articles appearing in journals of the highest international reputation, including Econometrica, The Economic Journal, European Economic Review, Economic Record, Journal of Human Resources, Journal of Applied Econometrics and Fiscal Studies. His research interests and expertise cover a broad range of topics, including: economic and social policy evaluation; taxation, public finance and public policy; the economics of education, training and childcare; employment and labour market participation; population and workforce dynamics; gender equity and discrimination; housing affordability; migration; income inequality; poverty and wellbeing; statistical simulation; and econometric modelling and forecasting.

Alan was awarded the prestigious Frisch Medal of the Econometric Society in 2000 for a paper published in the world-leading journal, Econometrica. He completed a DPhil in Economics at the University of York, and has served on a number of senior advisory panels and boards for government and public sector organisations in the UK, Europe and Australia, advising on areas including tax policy, pensions, labour markets and household welfare. Alan has been invited to give evidence at Federal Senate Committee hearings, and was invited to participate in the 2011 Henry Review of the Australian tax system.

Inquiry into pathways to housing tax reformAlan Duncan, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Gavin Wood
This inquiry will establish a viable, evidence-based strategy for breaking the political deadlock afflicting Australian housing tax policy. It will identify a pathway to reform that balances political imperative against technical policy objectives, by integrating practical policy analysis with economic... Read articleJune 2016 - September 2017Housing Pathways and Affordability | Participation and EmploymentRead More

Housing Affordability in Western Australia: A comparative analysisAlan Duncan, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Kenneth Leong
This research project builds on the successful research program delivered through collaboration between BCEC and the School of Economics and Finance which resulted in the “Housing Affordability: The real costs of housing in WA” report published in April 2014. It... Read articleOctober 2015 - October 2018Housing Pathways and AffordabilityRead More

BCEC|WGEA Gender Equity Insights SeriesRebecca Cassells, Alan Duncan, Astghik Mavisakalyan, Rachel Ong ViforJ
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre has partnered with the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in order to pursue a common goal of improving gender equality throughout Australia’s workplaces. A core purpose of the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre is to shed new... Read articleJune 2015 - July 2018Income and Wealth | Gender and DiversityRead More

Housing tenure, mobility and labour market adjustmentsRachel Ong ViforJ, Alan Duncan
This project explores the role of housing on the efficient function of the labour market for unemployed and under-employed individuals and households. The HILDA dataset is used to examine how housing tenure, through potential impediments to labour mobility may influence... Read articleMay 2015 - September 2016Housing Pathways and Affordability | Participation and EmploymentRead More

Publications

BCEC Quarterly Economic Commentary – December 2017Rebecca Cassells, Alan Duncan, Daniel Kiely
This is the first of Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre’s Western Australia Quarterly Economic Commentary analysing the most recent data on economic and social indicators for WA. Key findings from this edition include: Mixed signals in 2017 make ‘cautious optimism’ the New... Read article18 December 2017Quarterly Economic Commentary | Economic CommentaryRead More

BCEC Monthly Labour Market Update – Special Edition October 2017Alan Duncan, Alan Langford, Rebecca Cassells, Yashar Tarverdi
This special edition BCEC MLMU has been released to examine the impact of the major population re-benchmarking of the ABS Labour Force Survey. Every five years the ABS uses new information gathered from the Census to update its labour force... Read article11 December 2017Monthly Labour Market Updates | Economic CommentaryRead More

The Price is Right?Alan Duncan, Kenneth Leong, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Silvia Salazar, Chris Twomey
The Western Australian economy has experienced something of a roller-coaster ride over the last decade. Unprecedented economic growth over the course of the resources boom has been followed by a post-boom period during which activity has cooled. Despite a reduction in demand in... Read article1 December 2017Focus on WARead More